I work in the pharmacutical field and heard about Chantix. Got the prescriptions filled about 2 weeks ago. I held off of taking them until this morning. I am ready.. FINALLY! I have tried everything under the sun to stop smoking...nothing ever worked. Hopefully this will..
I worry however that I will continue to smoke. I mean my doctor say's it's normal to smoke while taking it. And as of today I still have the cravings. Is that normal? When will the desires stop.. Wondeing if this is another waste of money.

Welcome Loscalso!! So glad you could join us......yes you will want to keep smoking the first 6 or 7 days while taking the Chantix, that way it builds up in your system. Towards the end of that first pack, the cigs will probably start tasting a little funny, and you will not get the "good feeling" from them anymore. You will need to set your quit date shortly thereafter. For many of us, it was just putting them down and not having another one. For others, it was a little harder. Start making a mental note about why you're smoking, when you're smoking, and how many you're smoking and think twice about having them, do you REALLY need one, or is it just habit??

There is tons of support on these message boards, so ask away any questions or problems or side effects you might be having, and I can guarantee someone will answer you.

Thank you. I bought a pack last night.. had few. Then today.. its like a normal day. Smoked as many as I normally do. So your saying this feeling of wanting them will fade. Hope so.. I want to stop. And this stop date. How should I determine that date?

Your quit date should be around day 8 or when you start the second pack of meds. The first day I took the med, I was still a chimney. The second day a few less, and so on until the end of the week, it was more of a habit because they didn't taste good, and they weren't doing a blessed thing for me. So once that pack was done, I was a quitter. Just relax and see how you do each day. You are supposed to smoke whatever you want the first week. I never, ever would have thought I could quit and this was amazing for me to do so with minimal problems. Can I have a cheesesteak while your out today?

At this point, any cheesesteak will be fine!!! And sure, I'll treat when you come down! Just to be sure we are talking about the same thing, I bought a package of Chantix, which was a one month supply. It came in 4 sleeves, one week each. You said you have a bottle, so how many pills do you have? And I didn't do the entire course either. I don't know if down the road that will make a difference or not.

How about this..Ill bring you the finest steak down to you.. it will blow you away.. ooey gooey goodness.. How does one contact you?
At my Walgreens they gave me 2 bottles. In one bottle was 0.5mg only a few tablets and in the other a 30 day supply of 1mg. They didnt bubble pack mine.
Still talking about the same thing though.. Chantix..by Pfizer

Welcome to this board Loscalso!!! Congratulations on you decision to quit!!!

I quit using Chantix nine weeks ago. I started taking it 11 weeks ago. I think you will find the whole process occurs gradually as the drug builds up in your system. Pretty soon you will find that smoking is like sticking your head over a pile of burning leaves once the nicotine is blocked. I was determined to make this quit work successfully the first time.

I actually switched over to smoking nicotine-free cigarettes the last four days before my "Quit Day" to ensure the quit. There are several different brands of nicotine-free cigarettes on the market. Not sure what is available over by you. It was like one long withdrawal the first two weeks. By the time my quit day came, I had already been nicotine free for four days.

When the day came, I decided that was it, the end, good bye, never again - Smoking is no longer an option. The whole process actually went pretty smoothly. I NEVER thought I could do this. I smoked for 35 years. I thought it would be impossible to quit. But I did it... It surprised the daylights out of me.

Don't worry, you will do just fine. Please stop back to let us know how you're doing!

Oh my gosh, I'm dying here thinking about a steak!!! OK, about your meds, the way the bubble packs came if I remember were a half mg once a day x 3 days and then half a mg twice a day x 4 days and then you went to 1 mg twice a day. IF I'M WRONG SOME OF YOU NEWBIES LET ME KNOW ASAP! The idea is by the time you get to the last of your cheesteak, oh I mean by the time you get to the 1 mg pills twice a day, that was supposed to be your quit day. I had to finish the last few in my packarooni, so I quit the following day. Like Kevin said, I never, ever thought I would quit and I did. And it basically was fairly easy. Most of us quitting at the same time said we felt great, and still do. Everyone had some sort of different side effects too, so once you have questions about those, let us know. This board also was very important and helpful to me, so come back often and read what other's are writing. I'll have to send you a shopping list before your big trip to Tampa

I work in the pharmacutical field and heard about Chantix. Got the prescriptions filled about 2 weeks ago. I held off of taking them until this morning. I am ready.. FINALLY! I have tried everything under the sun to stop smoking...nothing ever worked. Hopefully this will..
I worry however that I will continue to smoke. I mean my doctor say's it's normal to smoke while taking it. And as of today I still have the cravings. Is that normal? When will the desires stop.. Wondeing if this is another waste of money.

Any help would be appreicated

Good luck to you all and good luck to me

Loscalso

Hi Loscalso,
So glad to have you here on the message board. You will never regret your decision to quit smoking and get healthy!! I can't tell you how much better I feel!!

I guess everyone else explained to you why you keep smoking until the Chantix has time to build up in your body. So still wanting to smoke is very normal and expected. This week, try to postpone when or where you smoke. That will help you with the "habit" of smoking.
I hate to tell you this, but you will still have withdrawal symptoms. But the good news is that the Chantix will help you get through it.

Why don't you just wait and see how you are doing and then you can decide whether or not to buy the 3rd month? Most of the people here that quit the drug before then did so because of the side effects related to the Chantix.
There are people here that did or are completing the 12 week course.
Your determination as well as the drug has a lot to do with being successful in quitting. Also keeping a positive attitude helps tremendously!!

Please keep posting and let us know how we can help you through this. We just love new quitters here!! It gives us a way to help others the way we have been helped.

Thank you all so much for your kind words. I looked at my bottles last night. Your right on all the doses.. Its just mine didnt come in a bubble pack like yours did. I am now on my second day of taking the medication. Still smokeing however.. I know it will fade.. just a worry wart. I cant tell however that the desires are not as strong. They are faint but I can defintitly tell something is going on in my noggin. Well, Gonna run out for a cheesesteak. Tampa? If things go the way Im planning. I want someway to get in touch with you so I can repay your support with a fatty of a steak

I'm a newbie. I'm on day 9 with Chantix. Sitting in my office right now and physically have no interest in a cig. Mentally is a little different. After the first 5 days on chantix I thought this is not going to work. Day 6 and beyond I can see how this drug works. Pretty neat! I still find it very difficult. I have smoked for over 20 years and like many of you, tried to quit several times. Chantix, in my view, is the real deal! If anything will help me stop it's this drug and this message board.

Again, I'm a newbie, but the encouragement here on this site is wonderful.

Congrats to you both on quitting or deciding to quit. Loscalso - it will get easier - don't worry so much, just take your pills and it see what happens. Just know that in your mind, this is it - think about the cigs you are smoking, and know that it is all going to come to an end soon and you will be free from Nicodemon for good! It will be wonderful!

I went to the doctor yesterday - and she asked me "Do you smoke?" I said, "Not anymore!!" And she was like, "For how long?" I said: